John Hsu

My Pledge

I will not take any corporate PAC money. I will not spend time fundraising for big money donations. I will fundraise with mostly small donations. I will continue to be an activist for the causes I believe in. I will talk non-stop to the people in my district. I will attend every committee hearing in DC I possibly can so that I will have the knowledge to decide on the important issues facing our nation.

The Issues

Green New Deal

According to the latest report from the UN IPCC, we have 11 years to reduce carbon emissions by 50% in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The Green New Deal (GND) does not call for an end to planes or cows. It sets forth the big hairy audacious goal of drastically reducing emissions to keep us below the important 2 degree threshold set forth in the IPCC report. It calls for good union jobs with good middle class wages. It calls for environmental justice. It calls for medicare for all to facilitate the smooth transition from fossil fuel burning jobs to green jobs.

Medicare for all

2 out of 3 cancer patients wind up in bankruptcies within 2 years of diagnosis. 2 out of 3 bankruptcies have to with medical bills. Patients can still be denied care. Our outcomes are some of the worse in the world yet we pay the most in the world per person. Working class people take on a second job just to pay for healthcare. National healthcare is working for almost all the countries in the industrialized world. America can successfully implement universal healthcare if the citizens are willing to fight for it. With medicare for all there will be no more medical bankruptcies, no more and small business be better able to compete against large corporations.

Reduce the wealth gap

Tax policies such as the Trump tax cuts, the Bush tax cuts and offshore tax havens along with economic policies such as NAFTA, an inadequate minimum wage and the weakening of unions have led to a tremendous increase in the wealth gap. People should be rewarded for their hard work but policies should not be designed to help grow the wealth of the wealthy at the expense of regular workers.

Tackle the student debt crisis

With a total student debt of $1.6 trillion and 10% of loans over 90 days of deliquency, we need to tackle this national issue. I propose buying up all student debt and charging 0% interest. This may seem like a radical idea but there has always been an understanding throughout history that too much indebtedness becomes a drag on a society. This idea is illustrated by the jubilee. Why should corporations profit on the backs of young graduates when we need them to participate and contribute to our economy. The return on this investment will be tremendous.

Reduce military spending

We currently spend around $1 trillion a year on the military which is more than the next 9 countries combined. We spend on unless wars. Eisenhower warned us about this. It's time to change our national priorities and transition to green technology contracts rather than military contracts.

Universal pre K and universal child care.

We know the importance of children's early years in their development. Early education is a great investment in the future of our country. It will allow duel income families to save on child care costs. It will allow single parents to work while knowing their children are taken care of. And lastly it will provide living wage work to a large number of child care givers.

Common Sense Gun Legislation

I support universal background checks and red flag laws. Why do we register cars for public safety but not guns. It is important that people who show signs that they could be a danger to others should not have easy access to guns.

Fairer elections

Rank choice voting will eliminate the need to choose between two candidates when you do not like either of their platforms. If your first choice loses, your second choice counts. If your first choice and second choice both lose, your third choice counts. This has already been done in Maine.

Protect whistleblowers and journalists

Whistleblowers and journalists should be protected from prosecution when they reveal unconstitutional or unlawful actions by our presidents, military or any other government institutions. Here is the story of Mike Gravel reading the Pentagon Papers into the congressional record. Daniel Ellsberg published the Pentagon Papers. Today Ellsberg is considered a hero. This story is similar to the case of Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange today. Here is the video that Manning released that shows the crimes of military in Iraq.

Stay out of Venezuela

Venezuela has the largest estimated oil reserves in the world, even more than Saudi Arabia. It is clear why our government wants regime change in that country. I do not want Venezuelans to suffer because of oil companies' greed for natural resources. We need to end the sanctions on Venezuela and work with their government if there are any humanitarian issues in their country.